The Maybelline Company was created by a 19-year-old entrepreneur named Tom Lyle Williams in 1915. Williams noticed his older sister Mabel applying a mixture of Vaseline and coal dust to her eyelashes to give them a darker, fuller look. He adapted it with a chemistry set and produced a product sold locally called lash-in-brow-line. Williams renamed his eye beautifier Maybelline, in honor of his sister Mabel, who gave him the idea. In 1917 the company produced Maybelline Cake Mascara, "the first modern eye cosmetic for everyday use" and Ultra Lash in the 1960s, which was the first mass-market automatic.[5]

In 1967, the company was sold by Williams to Plough, Inc. (now Schering-Plough) in Memphis, Tennessee. The entire cosmetic production facility was moved from Chicago to Memphis over one week-end. In 1975, the company moved its factory to Little Rock, Arkansas, where it is still located. In 1990, Schering-Plough sold Maybelline to a New York investment firm, Wasserstein Perella & Co. Maybelline Operational Headquarters remained in Memphis until being sold in 1996, when headquarters moved to New York City. The makeup factory moved to Brooklyn in 2000.[6]

In 1991, the company adopted its current advertising slogan, Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline. tagline. The company was acquired by L'Oréal in 1996. Acquiring Maybelline gave L'Oréal access to mass markets in cosmetics.

Maybelline has released several new products, including 'Eye Studio' collection for eye products, 'Fit Me' collection for foundation/facial products, and new 'Color Sensational' shades for lips. Currently, Maybelline is the Official Makeup Sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.[8] Some more popular products are the simple 'Baby Lips', which are a tinted, moisturizing lip balm with SPF 20, or the "Dream Fresh BB Cream', which is a liquid foundation.

There is reasonable evidence that claims that Maybelline products were tested on animals are not wholly unfounded.[9][10] During 1989 L'Oreal ceased to test finished products prior to their launch on the market and has committed to developing alternative methods.[11] Although according to a 2010 report, is required by law within a certain number of countries to continue with animal testing.[12] On this continuation the company states that there is a commitment of "working with the authorities in these countries and sharing knowledge about alternative testing methods".

According to their website, L’Oréal no longer officially tests on animals any of its products or any of its ingredients, anywhere in the world. Nor does L’Oréal delegate this task to others. An exception could only be made if regulatory authorities demanded it for safety or regulatory purposes.[13]